Told a Friend Not to Buy ESO

aeroch

Not sure why I'm posting this, but as much as I have enjoyed this game I can't in good conscience recommend to my friends that they purchase it.

The issues I brought up:
1. Veteran levels. Finishing the quests for a character's alliance doesn't equal level cap and there's still two more alliances to go. I enjoyed it, personally, and it was fun to experience all of the PvE content at once, but that's not for everyone, and to require the completion of Caldwell's in order to progress really sucks for players who aren't interested in the PvE.

2. AvA. Keep swapping, no persistence to Cyrodiil, zergball, lack of small-scale objectives. I consider myself a pretty rabid PvPer, but Cyrodiil bores me to tears. There isn't anything to do besides following the peloton. It's especially disappointing considering how large the Cyrodiil map is and how little content is available.

3. Timesink vs reward. Crafting especially has been a problem for me. Considering the time, and subscription money, that I've put into crafting, I'm very disappointed. The crafted set bonuses are garbage, in general, and requiring 2-3+ months to research 8 traits is ridiculous given how poorly the 8-trait sets compare to dropped sets.

4. Balance. DKs and Sorcs OP, Templars and NBs UP, and everyone on every side of the issue has no idea what balance should actually look like, per the designers' intent, because the design behind every aspect of the game is short-sighted and poorly thought out.

I don't know. I defended the game pretty rabidly pre-VR10. Now I'm level capped, there's no more PvE for me to experience, PvP is boring and repetitive, and I have no idea what to do aside from log in to receive hireling mail, upgrade horse, and research traits as they're available.

It pains me to see an Elder Scrolls title in this state, but I do truly believe that they've screwed the pooch on this one. And as much as I would like to, I cannot recommend to my RL friends that they purchase this game and invest time in it.

Sorry for the rant and ty for reading. Again, I'm not sure why I'm posting this, but I feel let down and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon

Blackwidow

I understand. It's not for everyone.

Good news is, ESO will get better, so maybe he can try it when it all gets fixed or it will go F2P and he can give it a shot then.

Necronomicon

Sadly, WildStar looks like a goldmine compared to this game, and you can purchase subs with ingame gold?... Wild Star has housing,arena pvp and so on, everything ESO should've been..

crowfl56

sorry silly post but its your opinion

khaza

So much truth in this...

Tannakaobi

Necronomicon wrote: »

Sadly, WildStar looks like a goldmine compared to this game, and you can purchase subs with ingame gold?... Wild Star has housing,arena pvp and so on, everything ESO should've been..

Does it ***, I'd go back to wow's panda's before I play that ***. WS looks to be everything that eventually made me give up on wow, but none of the things that made me like wow in the first place. Each to there own I suppose. I hope you enjoy it.

Op! Well done, you stopped your friend playing a perfectly decent game that you enjoyed because of some minor problems that ALL new mmo's will have in one way or another, good job. Most people in your situation, the way you have described it would have said. It's a good game, I have enjoyed it but be warned of X, Y, Z.

rawne1980b16_ESO

I told a friend he needed a new sofa.

It was a nasty purple one he got for free from his wifes aunty or something silly like that.




What?

I thought we were playing the *pointless tripe we tell our friends but no one else really gives a damn* game....

seaef

rawne1980b16_ESO wrote: »

I told a friend he needed a new sofa.

It was a nasty purple one he got for free from his wifes aunty or something silly like that.

What?

I thought we were playing the *pointless tripe we tell our friends but no one else really gives a damn* game....

Actually, I'm more interested in your story than the OP's...

aeroch

Tannakaobi wrote: »

Op! Well done, you stopped your friend playing a perfectly decent game that you enjoyed because of some minor problems that ALL new mmo's will have in one way or another, good job. Most people in your situation, the way you have described it would have said. It's a good game, I have enjoyed it but be warned of X, Y, Z.

I wouldn't call them minor problems. Just to list an example, I haven't played a Nightblade, but the fact that they still aren't fully functional is inexcusable and the announcement a week or so ago addressing some of those issues is inexcusable and doesn't bode well for the future of this game. You don't launch, and neglect, issues of that caliber for the first two months of the game. All new MMOs don't launch with major bugs involving base class mechanics that have been reported to death since beta and have been willfully ignored for whatever reason.

And yes, I'm glad I raised those issues. Most of my RL friends have quit the game because of these same issues. Would my friend have enjoyed some parts of the game? Sure. Would he have enjoyed the $60 + subscription, only to discover the shortcomings after a week or two? Probably not.

I know ZOS has its hands tied in some regards to how they progress ESO and with regards to the future of the game, but I can't imagine too many players sticking around at this rate. I'm subscribed and I have no plans to quit, but I really have no reason to stick around or remain active at this point. It's disheartening and I hope the developers and designers can recapture my interest but I don't expect too much.

Wintersage

Tannakaobi wrote: »

Op! Well done, you stopped your friend playing a perfectly decent game that you enjoyed because of some minor problems

Stopped reading there.

Carnage2K4

With people that ask, I normally say wait 4-6 months... currently it may as well still be called late-beta.

ipkonfigcub18_ESO

Carnage2K4 wrote: »

With people that ask, I normally say wait 4-6 years... currently it may as well still be called late-beta.

Fixed

someuser

@aeroch great post. You have definitely articulated some of ESO shortcomings. Being a PvE'er myself, I at first thought the massive amount of PvE quest material was great... and in many ways it is great imo... but there are valid issues inherit in that design. Forcing people who are mostly PvP to grind out three alliances worth of PvE content is... well, it's a lot. And god forbid you want to have some vet lvl alts! PvP has a lot of room for improvement itself; crafting is kind of fun, but not as compelling as many other MMO's I played.

However, one thing that I come to realize more and more, pre lvl 50 is pretty fun. Things work good enough where the shortcomings, while there, aren't glaring as much.

ESO is a great single player MMO (I know, oxymoron). End game is lacking and unbalanced and non-compelling for a lot of players (atleast on these forums). I can see why.

Blackwidow

ipkonfigcub18_ESO wrote: »

Carnage2K4 wrote: »

With people that ask, I normally say wait 4-6 years... currently it may as well still be called late-beta.

Fixed

ROFLMAO!

QFT.

Pellaeon

I was pretty much the same way. I am a big fan of Elder Scrolls and when I read posts about the negative aspect of this game I always thought they were exaggerating but now that I have hit the veteran ranks I have been getting bored. PvP was exciting at first but has Kinda gotten stale .

Thulsola

aeroch wrote: »

Tannakaobi wrote: »

Op! Well done, you stopped your friend playing a perfectly decent game that you enjoyed because of some minor problems that ALL new mmo's will have in one way or another, good job. Most people in your situation, the way you have described it would have said. It's a good game, I have enjoyed it but be warned of X, Y, Z.

I wouldn't call them minor problems. Just to list an example, I haven't played a Nightblade, but the fact that they still aren't fully functional is inexcusable and the announcement a week or so ago addressing some of those issues is inexcusable and doesn't bode well for the future of this game.

I do play a NB, and am loving every single minute of it. My NB works just fine - I solo content 2 to 4 levels above me with ease.

Loco_Mofo

I did the same just the other day.

Even though I'm still playing (bought the 6 month sub) and would love to play along side RL friends, I couldn't in my right mind recommend ESO to a friend, quite the opposite. I told him to save his cash and wait for something else to come along, it's just not worth it in its current state.

It's sad to see such a great franchise with so much promise and potential go down the crapper, so rapidly too. The game has some serious issues and Zenimax so far have shown that they're simply incapable of fixing the bugs in a suitable time frame, balancing the classes, containing the bot problem and actively communicating with the player base.

My main is a VR5 NB and trying to level him has become boring, repetitive and at times frustrating. At this point I login to feed my horse, research a new trait, run maybe 1 or 2 quests, then log back out. It's become a chore, not something I do to relax and have a bit of fun on. Looking at the PTS notes for 1.2 has confirmed I made a huge mistake purchasing the 6 month sub, live n learn.

I hope Zenimax read this thread and take on board some honest feedback from players that wanted to love the game and stay for the long haul, only to get frustrated and leave after 2 months.

aeroch

Thulsola wrote: »

I do play a NB, and am loving every single minute of it. My NB works just fine - I solo content 2 to 4 levels above me with ease.

I'm glad that you're enjoying it, but that sentiment isn't exactly shared by your fellow subscribers who expected a fully functional class at launch

kaosodin

rawne1980b16_ESO wrote: »

I told a friend he needed a new sofa.

It was a nasty purple one he got for free from his wifes aunty or something silly like that.




What?

I thought we were playing the *pointless tripe we tell our friends but no one else really gives a damn* game....

My father acuses chestnuts of being lazy, and I invented the question mark.

magickats242cub18_ESO

I would never presume to tell my friends on what to buy, I just tell them of my experience, then have them do their own research. This way they can come to their own conclusions and decide for themselves.

I guess I am just not pushy like that. I like to believe that my friends are adult enough to figure things out for themselves.

pecheckler

Thulsola wrote: »

aeroch wrote: »

Tannakaobi wrote: »

Op! Well done, you stopped your friend playing a perfectly decent game that you enjoyed because of some minor problems that ALL new mmo's will have in one way or another, good job. Most people in your situation, the way you have described it would have said. It's a good game, I have enjoyed it but be warned of X, Y, Z.

I wouldn't call them minor problems. Just to list an example, I haven't played a Nightblade, but the fact that they still aren't fully functional is inexcusable and the announcement a week or so ago addressing some of those issues is inexcusable and doesn't bode well for the future of this game.

I do play a NB, and am loving every single minute of it. My NB works just fine - I solo content 2 to 4 levels above me with ease.

clearly not veteran rank 5 yet

aeroch

magickats242cub18_ESO wrote: »

I would never presume to tell my friends on what to buy, I just tell them of my experience, then have them do their own research. This way they can come to their own conclusions and decide for themselves.

I guess I am just not pushy like that. I like to believe that my friends are adult enough to figure things out for themselves.

Congrats. I wasn't pushy like that, either. I told him about the issues I saw, I told him about the general gameplay, and I told him that I wouldn't purchase the game if I could do it again. He made the decision for himself.

However, I'm mature enough and I've had enough experience with MMOs to recognize and recommend a good product versus some candy-assed "well I enjoy it so try it yourself" approach.

eNumbra

pecheckler wrote: »

Thulsola wrote: »

aeroch wrote: »

Tannakaobi wrote: »

Op! Well done, you stopped your friend playing a perfectly decent game that you enjoyed because of some minor problems that ALL new mmo's will have in one way or another, good job. Most people in your situation, the way you have described it would have said. It's a good game, I have enjoyed it but be warned of X, Y, Z.

I wouldn't call them minor problems. Just to list an example, I haven't played a Nightblade, but the fact that they still aren't fully functional is inexcusable and the announcement a week or so ago addressing some of those issues is inexcusable and doesn't bode well for the future of this game.

I do play a NB, and am loving every single minute of it. My NB works just fine - I solo content 2 to 4 levels above me with ease.

clearly not veteran rank 5 yet

Nor is he likely using a stamina build and fighting groups.

My NB is bow/dw and I can solo single mobs much higher than me, the ability to fight something over your level is a fairly narrow scope through which to view the game.

Blackwidow

magickats242cub18_ESO wrote: »

I would never presume to tell my friends on what to buy, I just tell them of my experience, then have them do their own research. This way they can come to their own conclusions and decide for themselves.

I guess I am just not pushy like that. I like to believe that my friends are adult enough to figure things out for themselves.

But, if a friend said to you, "You own this item, is it worth buying in your opinion?"

You would never give a yes or no answer, even with a review?

I think using the word pushy was a bit much. Not everyone want to hear about a product for a long time when all they really want is a yes or no.

Friend: Is EOS worth buying?

You: Regardless of whether you assume the guise of an orc or an elf, Elder Scrolls Online is the story of an adventurer in search of his or her soul. It's a fitting setup for a beloved single-player franchise that finds itself taking its first shaky steps in the unfamiliar massively multiplayer role playing game genre, and just moments past the character creation screen you can feel it struggling to reconcile its heritage with its new duds. Just as the adventurer tries to learn the truth of their past, ESO itself struggles with its identity through each leg of the lengthy leveling content.

Friend: Okay, but is it worth buying?

You: It's important to view ZeniMax Online's creation as an MMORPG first and an Elder Scrolls game second. Expecting to kill random NPCs or find the free-roaming exploration of a game like Skyrim amid its traditional zone-based progression? It'll always let you down. The good news is that, despite some substantial launch bugs and underwhelming graphics, it exceeds many expectations and captures the Elder Scrolls experience about as well as an MMORPG realistically can.

Friend: Okay, but do you think it is worth getting??

you: It takes a while for the pieces to fall into place over the course of its 100-hour main story, but in time it delivers an experience that's at least as worthy of the Elder Scrolls name as any of the three most recent single-player games. (It suffers from the same occasional cliches, too.) It presents its own unique twists and cameos of important figures from Elder Scrolls lore, as well as a final boss encounter that both exceeds the challenges of some of the single-player games and points to what's in store in the promising Veteran content that comes after 50.

Friend: OMG! can you just answer me please!!!!

You: As in Skyrim, it's the quests you find from random townsfolk and Dunmer guar herders that make up the bulk of the PvE experience, as well as stories from series favorites such as the Mages’ and Fighters’ Guilds. They're fully voiced to a degree that puts even Star Wars: The Old Republic to shame, although the quality of the delivery from the limited voice actors ranges from adequate to robotic (particularly for some male Argonians). The catch? If you’re unaccustomed to the conventions of MMOs, you may bristle at the sight of other adventurers undertaking the same clandestine dealings with the same sketchy Breton landowners. These stories written for a singular hero but delivered to a crowd are a spot where ESO seems to hold onto its single-player beginnings more than it probably should.

Friend: Forget it! BYE!

/and scene

Axewaffle

Necronomicon wrote: »

Sadly, WildStar looks like a goldmine compared to this game, and you can purchase subs with ingame gold?... Wild Star has housing,arena pvp and so on, everything ESO should've been..

Wildstar by definition has nothing innovative, nothing new. Its bland its boring, yet thats why all the reviews and people that play it think it will be the new goldmine... Because the MMo crowed has been desperately craving an innovative MMo with some new thing or another that doesn't suck for so many years that its actually innovative in its own way in that its running almost identically to WoWs old setup.

Wildstar has absolutely nothing new, and people love it, because what it does do is cater to people elitism, need for achievement, and is just familiar enough for people to hunker down for the grind fest that is MMo. The original WoW devs that made it truly understand the MMo market, purhapse even more than we do ourselves.. and thats a little sad.

magickats242cub18_ESO

Blackwidow wrote: »

magickats242cub18_ESO wrote: »

I would never presume to tell my friends on what to buy, I just tell them of my experience, then have them do their own research. This way they can come to their own conclusions and decide for themselves.

I guess I am just not pushy like that. I like to believe that my friends are adult enough to figure things out for themselves.

But, if a friend said to you, "You own this item, is it worth buying in your opinion?"

You would never give a yes or no answer, even with a review?

I think using the word pushy was a bit much. Not everyone want to hear about a product for a long time when all they really want is a yes or no.

Friend: Is EOS worth buying?

You: Regardless of whether you assume the guise of an orc or an elf, Elder Scrolls Online is the story of an adventurer in search of his or her soul. It's a fitting setup for a beloved single-player franchise that finds itself taking its first shaky steps in the unfamiliar massively multiplayer role playing game genre, and just moments past the character creation screen you can feel it struggling to reconcile its heritage with its new duds. Just as the adventurer tries to learn the truth of their past, ESO itself struggles with its identity through each leg of the lengthy leveling content.

Friend: Okay, but is it worth buying?

You: It's important to view ZeniMax Online's creation as an MMORPG first and an Elder Scrolls game second. Expecting to kill random NPCs or find the free-roaming exploration of a game like Skyrim amid its traditional zone-based progression? It'll always let you down. The good news is that, despite some substantial launch bugs and underwhelming graphics, it exceeds many expectations and captures the Elder Scrolls experience about as well as an MMORPG realistically can.

Friend: Okay, but do you think it is worth getting??

you: It takes a while for the pieces to fall into place over the course of its 100-hour main story, but in time it delivers an experience that's at least as worthy of the Elder Scrolls name as any of the three most recent single-player games. (It suffers from the same occasional cliches, too.) It presents its own unique twists and cameos of important figures from Elder Scrolls lore, as well as a final boss encounter that both exceeds the challenges of some of the single-player games and points to what's in store in the promising Veteran content that comes after 50.

Friend: OMG! can you just answer me please!!!!

You: As in Skyrim, it's the quests you find from random townsfolk and Dunmer guar herders that make up the bulk of the PvE experience, as well as stories from series favorites such as the Mages’ and Fighters’ Guilds. They're fully voiced to a degree that puts even Star Wars: The Old Republic to shame, although the quality of the delivery from the limited voice actors ranges from adequate to robotic (particularly for some male Argonians). The catch? If you’re unaccustomed to the conventions of MMOs, you may bristle at the sight of other adventurers undertaking the same clandestine dealings with the same sketchy Breton landowners. These stories written for a singular hero but delivered to a crowd are a spot where ESO seems to hold onto its single-player beginnings more than it probably should.

Friend: Forget it! BYE!

/and scene

Yes I admit pushy might've been too strong of a word, but I would still not tell my friend yes or no. If that person can't see for themselves the pros and cons of a product, whether through consumer reviews or friends' experiences then I will have to assume they are not old enough to make conscious decisions on their own, and tell them to just not spend any money on anything until they learn how to be smart consumers.

phaneub17_ESO

That's okay, I tell friends never play World of Warcraft because its hard to get off that damn game. I'm still going back this winter for the expac when my 6-month sub to this one ends.

Bane_of_Fringe

Vr-5 Nightblade and I have no troubles..DPS works fine with some spell enchantment increase, and using what you have at the right time works wonders. (Also a stamina build..half and half really, but it works good in dungeons and pvp.)

That being said...it's nobody's fault that you decided to push through all PvE content within the first month of the game. Whoever pointed out that the game is done within the first 2 weeks for them either wasted their time on a game that wasn't for them, or spent way to much time speeding through content.

PvP for me has an objective, whether it's taking a vendetta with another player and/or large group objectives such as keeps, areas, the whole map. As it is, smaller groups are awarded more anyways.

It's whatever, pessimistic views is what everybody has to give. I remember pre-vet and it was awesome. Just got the game, spent every free hour of every day on it. I will admit that vet lvls are rather boring and loathsome, but the game is still good. Game hasn't been out for two months, and people are sucking it dry. I plan to keep playing it, trying out new builds nobody else has, and enjoying the game I spent $60 on and have spent $30 for game-time. If you need to be fed content like an animal, then ESO really isn't for you.

Drasn

Bane_of_Fringe wrote: »

Vr-5 Nightblade and I have no troubles..DPS works fine with some spell enchantment increase, and using what you have at the right time works wonders. (Also a stamina build..half and half really, but it works good in dungeons and pvp.)

That being said...it's nobody's fault that you decided to push through all PvE content within the first month of the game. Whoever pointed out that the game is done within the first 2 weeks for them either wasted their time on a game that wasn't for them, or spent way to much time speeding through content.

PvP for me has an objective, whether it's taking a vendetta with another player and/or large group objectives such as keeps, areas, the whole map. As it is, smaller groups are awarded more anyways.

It's whatever, pessimistic views is what everybody has to give. I remember pre-vet and it was awesome. Just got the game, spent every free hour of every day on it. I will admit that vet lvls are rather boring and loathsome, but the game is still good. Game hasn't been out for two months, and people are sucking it dry. I plan to keep playing it, trying out new builds nobody else has, and enjoying the game I spent $60 on and have spent $30 for game-time. If you need to be fed content like an animal, then ESO really isn't for you.

Unfortunately, it's not the lack of content that is driving people away. There are many other things that are doing that just fine on their own. Do a little research and you will understand why people are leaving.

peter.harkessnrb18_ESO

I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. All 4 friends who played it quit after a day and even though I dont think thats long enough to make a proper assessment of the game I can't blame them.

I myself have unsubbed as of yesterday as I see no future in this game and am kind of annoyed I wasted so much time on it and was far more tolerant of its failings than it deserved. Such was my desire this game would be good.

The only way I see this game becoming something is if they radically rework it and relaunch it ala FFXIV but regardless I don't see myself coming back.

Evergreen

aeroch wrote: »

Not sure why I'm posting this, but as much as I have enjoyed this game I can't in good conscience recommend to my friends that they purchase it.

The issues I brought up:

4. Balance. DKs and Sorcs OP, Templars and NBs UP, and everyone on every side of the issue has no idea what balance should actually look like, per the designers' intent, because the design behind every aspect of the game is short-sighted and poorly thought out.

I don't know. I defended the game pretty rabidly pre-VR10. Now I'm level capped, there's no more PvE for me to experience, PvP is boring and repetitive, and I have no idea what to do aside from log in to receive hireling mail, upgrade horse, and research traits as they're available.

It pains me to see an Elder Scrolls title in this state, but I do truly believe that they've screwed the pooch on this one. And as much as I would like to, I cannot recommend to my RL friends that they purchase this game and invest time in it.

Sorry for the rant and ty for reading. Again, I'm not sure why I'm posting this, but I feel let down and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon

Don't be sorry at all your post is not a rant post, very articulate imo. Also you're passing on the advice to lurkers who may be looking to make a decision. In the first month I was in the White Knight camp myself but am totally disillusioned at this point after reading the latest patch notes which will be nerfing Nightblades again while providing no meaningful balance fixes to the class. I'd be surprised if ESO can even make it as a successful f2p model six months from now.